After they save the world, the girls
know there will be ice cream cake.
But first, they decorate and don their sparkling masks.
They be-jeweled and glue flowers onto flowing white capes.
They are all seven now, and they know
a thing or two about the life of a superhero—
it’s hard and takes teamwork. As they prepare,
Bubbles suggests they plan to stick together—
none of them wants to go it alone.
Fire Girl, Superwoman and Lunta agree.
The mission is harder than they thought.
Superwoman, though she has powers
of super speed and super strength,
also learns she is afraid
of tall grass and snakes.
Lunta, though she has powers of snow and ice,
has to ditch her shiny black dress shoes
mid-mission. She opts for pink sneakers instead.
As they face the world’s foes,
they stop to pick daisies
and strew the white petals in a pond.
They chant and sing and cast spells
and find pretty rocks by the river.
They notice damselflies and orange butterflies
and look in the willows for nests.
In an hour the job is done.
All ten of the world’s greatest foes
have been found and chastised and glitter bombed.
And now the heroes are hungry.
While eating the cake, no one
boasts that she did more work than the others.
They talk about going back to the pond
to swim and canoe, which they do.
For hours they splash and paddle and negotiate
how to share the one float toy
that everyone wants. Who could
recognize them now without
their masks and capes, these girls
who are saving the world?